Clip 4/20: Multiplying and Factoring Polynomial Expressions Lesson Part 1B
Overview
Melissa Nix continues the beginning part of the lesson with a second mental math/ number talk: 0.5 x 16 x 3/4. Again, she challenges her eighth-grade students to come up with a solution in more than one way: “There are many ways to solve a problem, and I value your creative thinking.”
Melissa tells the class that many students find this problem more challenging, and that “challenging makes our brains grow.” Again, she asks students to share, and elicits the property used in their strategies: commutative.
Teacher Commentary
Teacher Commentary
When I learned multiplication, I didn't learn an area model for multiplication. I didn't learn the relationship between repeated addition, and how that can be formed into an array, which could tie into multi-digit multiplication, which then ties into polynomial multiplication.
All of that connection, nobody taught it to me. I would work on this with my former work partner, kind of like, "How can we explain this? How does this make sense?” We would collaborate a lot together and make sense of it ourselves. I am a huge believer in collaboration and working with somebody else to brainstorm ideas with and ask questions of.